One of the many blessings of aging is that my memory capacity is changing.  I won’t say “going” or “deteriorating”; I am not there yet.  This creates wonderful surprises for me each day.  For example: last weekend when I arrived home from the FBC Conference, I left my suitcase just inside the door.  I packed up a different case, to take with me (when I left the house at 5:30 the next morning), to fly back up north, to finish off a teaching commitment.  Now that I am home again, I opened my FBC suitcase like it was Christmas morning!

So too, as I read back over the notes that I took during the sessions, I am delighted by the nuggets of wisdom that I can apply to my craft.  I was especially struck by three people and they all happen to be men, which is ironic when you consider that the conference was primarily attended by females with mostly female presenters.  Don’t misunderstand me, I love the company of women: their insights and tenderness and affection.  Male voices just seemed to resonate with me last weekend, like the feeling you get when watching a parade and the drum corp marches by.

Dan Clapson made an first impression on me when he was part of the panel of speakers for the “Making Dough-Earning a Living with Your Words” session but when I was really inspired was when he spoke up during “The Changing Face of Food Writing” as he passionately interjected that he and his fellow writer/bloggers from Alberta were unified in their promotion of local food, producers and the provinces’ vibrant restaurant scene.  Were you also impressed by his courage to challenge the “Toronto-centric” perspective?

I was bewildered when I saw other conference attendees swarm the speakers’ table to get Corey Mintz’s autograph.  But as soon as he mentioned his rubbing of shoulders with Ruth Reichl, I too might have been tempted.  Her books Tender to the Bone and Garlic and Sapphires are among my favourite culinary non-fiction reads.  I read Corey’s How to Host a Dinner Party in two sittings this week.  I immensely enjoyed his instruction, in spite of the fact that I felt like an idiot for not knowing what “guanciale” was (I still don’t know how to pronounce it).  Sarah Polley’s introduction of her friend Corey instantly connected me to him, with these words:

Through learning to cook, he developed an eloquent, uncomplicated way of showing love without irony.

This declaration confirmed my personal life equation: food=love.  Might I also add, that I adore when people “get” me and I think that I get Corey Mintz.  His book’s final paragraph, reads:

Because in the end, it’s about connecting with people over food.  That’s what’s important to me.  Within this book, hopefully, I’ve provided some guidance so that more people can make that happen more often, and with greater comfort.

The last say was given to keynote David Leite, whom I will admit, I did not remember hearing of previously.  Perhaps it is the memory thing again because I avidly read  The Best Food Writing series each and every year and must have come across he and his writings before.  I really need to listen to his sage advice of backing away from the desk and the stove.  Being a relatively new blogger, I am too focused on the quantity of my posts.  I need to give myself permission to sit longer at our dining room table after the dinner has been consumed, walk my dog with less urgency (“would you please poop, so we can get home”) and just … be.

When David declared: “I love language”, he intended “love” to be a verb.  I consider “love” to also have great significance as a noun and “love language” is my native tongue.  Since last weekend, I have spent time in a troubled Manitoba northern community and watched the horrific bombings of the Boston marathon.  If the language of love could be spoken more often, in our homes, communities, country and around the world, it might not change the world, but then again, it just might.

Kath’s quote: “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”-George Bernard Shaw

Love-that is all.

D and I have a mutual bucket list of places in the world that we dream to visit. We are slowly checking off the most amazing places on earth: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Amman, Rome, Paris, Nice, Monaco, Athens, London, New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Seattle and Washington, DC along with so many wonderful Canadian cities. Although we imagined that Portugal or Czech Republic would be next on our list, the history, art, beauty, romance and FOOD of Italy is calling us to return.

On my first sojourn to Italy, I threw my coins in the Fountain of Trevi with the hope that some way, somehow, I would return. In celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary, D and I stayed with good friends in Sicily and then took the train up the west coast of Italy hugging the Mediterranean, the entire length of the boot. We had an absolutely perfect trip (except for losing a bag at a train station) and never dreamed that we would have the opportunity to return.

D longs to visit Rome again and see the many sights that he missed during his whirlwind first visit. And although we have seen Viareggio and the other coastal towns of Tuscany, from a moving train, we have never set foot in Tuscany. Now an opportunity has presented itself that seems at first glance almost too good to be true. With perseverance and hard work, we will be able to make it happen. So this fall, we will be off to Montalcino, Tuscany as our base and then tour Pienza, Castellina in Chianti, Seggiano and Siena.

We’ll take photography and writing lessons, and be tutored by a private chef (who also owns the estate where we will stay). There are even plans to go truffle hunting. I only learned what a truffle was five years ago and now I get to forage in the woods of Tuscany for them! My life is rich. We are truly blessed and good things just keep happening to us.

I know that simplicity is central to Tuscan cuisine. Legumes, bread, cheese, vegetables, mushrooms, fresh fruit, olive oil and white truffles are key elements and the focus is on the high quality of the ingredients more than the complexity of the preparations. And then of course there is the Chianti! As soon as we knew that we were both going to be able to take on this adventure, D started researching Tuscan wines and discovered Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, so samplings of these will commence immediately in our home.

Readers of this space know that I love the anticipation of a trip almost as much as the time itself.  I am going to get out my history of art books and dive into the Renaissance. I will practice hiking up hills (a tough feat on the prairies). I am going to reread my favourite stories of Tuscany Under the Tuscan Sun, Too Much Tuscan Sun, A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure and The Hills of Tuscany.  I will finally rent A Room with a View. Tuscany, here we come.

Kath’s quote: “Life is good-life is fine. Life is tremendous, all the time“. Source Unknown

Love-that is all.
 

Scotia Momentum^® VISA Infinite* card

Get up to 4% cash back on everyday purchases.

Apply Now

This post was brought to you by Scotia Momentum^® VISA Infinite* card via Glam Media Canada.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Scotiabank.

If you are at all like me, you sit and think about what you would do if you won the lottery: how you would buy each of your family members a beach house, tell the kids that they could finish university at whichever university they wished to attend, support your favourite charities and travel.  Ah travel.  There are so many places to see and taste! This is the stuff of many of my daydreams but because I never ever buy a ticket, it will never be.  I always talk myself out of making a purchase because I know that my odds of winning are miniscule at best.

Well, here’s a contest that you would really have a good shot at: Sobeys West Tastes of the World Contest is ONLY available in Sobeys Stores in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC!  All you have to do is visit our local Sobeys store to pick up game board and pieces.  The contest started this week but there is still plenty of time because it runs until May 16th.   There are a number of instant prizes and ways to win but shoot for the stars and picture yourself in one of these amazing culinary destinations:

Paris, Rome, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Cancun or Bangkok!

We’re having a twitter party on Tuesday, April 16th at 8pm (in Manitoba) with more prizes to be had.  I’ll be tweeting from Thompson! RSVP below the heart at the end of this post.

For more information or to pick up your passport and game pieces, please visit your local Sobeys Store.

Kath’s quote:  “You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way!”
― Dr. Seuss

Love-that is all.

All of you, my lovely readers know that I am especially ga ga over two world cuisines-Italian and Mexican.  I have exciting news to share with you about Italy but unfortunately, you are going to have to wait just a wee bit longer.  As far as Mexican cuisine is concerned, when the Winnipeg entourage was recently on Isla Mujeres, Jackie, Sister #3 and I traveled to Puerto Moreles for the day to attend The Little Mexican Cooking School.  I am bursting with all the nuggets of info that we are going to share with you.  Sister #3 and I are going to collaborate on at least three posts: 1) chocolate 2) chilies and 3) beverages.  We actually learned how to make chocolate from a raw cocoa bean and “stone” soup.  The day was absolutely fascinating and delicious.

The world of taste is such an enormous place.  We learned that there are seven culinary regions of Mexico and even though we were in the region of the Maya, we studied about the foods native to Oaxaca.  There are another seven moles from different areas of the state of Oaxaca.  Omgosh-there is so much in this world to learn and see and taste!

I have been pinning my Isla Mujeres pics for the last couple of weeks but I would love to one day travel to other culinary regions of Mexico including Oaxaca and so I am creating a new pin board of my “Dream Destination”.

In the mean time, memories of the wonderful day that we spent under the guidance of handsome and talented Chef Christobal will be pinned to my new board.

In celebration of spring and Mexico and the tastes of the world, I (along with the rest of the Sobeys Love Food Ambassadors) am announcing a special contest.  Anyone who creates a pinboard, tagging their repins with #LoveSobeys, is entered to win one of 12 $100. Sobey’s gift cards.  You will be able to use the cards for delicious Mexican items like Roasted Tomato Chipolte Salsa, Black Bean and Corn Salsa, Salsa Verde and Extra Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce.  D and I are heading to Sobey’s right now to pick up some Friday night supper because it has been to long without the taste of Mexico.

Kath’s quote: “Some people like to paint pictures, or do gardening, or build a boat in the basement. Other people get a tremendous pleasure out of the kitchen, because cooking is just as creative and imaginative an activity as drawing, or wood carving, or music.” -Julia Child

Love-that is all.

I spotted Tio’s Mexican Restaurant as I was heading south on St. Mary’s Rd. (754 to be exact). one afternoon and made a mental note to put it on my “must try” list.  Unfortunately, my list is very long and there are only so many times that I can justify going out for dinner.  But, if a new friend suggests that we meet at a restaurant that she thinks that I would enjoy, the decision is made for me.  I just had to go out again, didn’t I?

Even though the sun is changing locations in the sky and sticking around for longer in the evening, it is still not spring time in Winnipeg.  This, I believe is the perfect time to savour the tastes that remind you of warm places like Mexico!  For me, the combination of tomatoes, limes and cilantro transport me to a place and time where the sun is warm and always shining.

It was cold and blustery, the night that we met, but the tidy and cheerful décor was warm and inviting. The helpful server was truly glad to take care of us and shared her stories of warm places that she has traveled to.  Dinner started with chips and salsa and we ordered guacamole just for good measure.

Tio’s makes their guacamole to order only when avocadoes are in season, which I think bodes well for their commitment to quality.  We agreed that the recipe needed a little bit more zing so we added a pinch of salt and more lime juice.

My supper mate chose the Combination Plate and was cheerfully accommodated when she requested a mix of chicken and beef items, instead of one or the other.  Her platter of a beef burrito, chicken taco and chicken enchilada came with a cheese quesadilla, Mexican rice and re-fried beans.

I went with the Shrimp Tacos and both of us had to take leftovers home for lunch the following day.  The next time we meet for chips and salsa again, it will be in Mexico (I am counting the sleeps)!

Post Script:  I obviously wrote this a little while ago because I have been to Isla and my tan has already washed itself down the shower drain.

Kath’s quote: “Grilling is like sunbathing. Everyone knows it is bad for you but no one ever stops doing it.”-Laurie Colwin

Love-that is all.